Missoula Personal Injury Blog

If you're in the baby boomer generation or older, you may recall taking leisurely Sunday drives with your family as a child. Nowadays, this form of free time activity is not as common, quite possibly because Montana roadways are a lot more dangerous now than they were then. Why? One reason is simply that there are many more cars on the road at any given time than there used to be. Posted speed limits are often higher, as well.

One of the leading factors of increased highway danger, however, is that of distracted driving. You may adhere to all traffic regulations and practice good driving habits that help keep yourself and your passengers safe, but if there's a distracted driver nearby, you and anyone else in the vicinity are at great risk for injury. It's important to be able to recognize signs of distracted driving and also to know where to seek support if a collision occurs.

A common allergy reported by people in Montana and other states seeking medical treatment is penicillin. However, a new study suggests most individuals are not actually allergic to this widely used antibiotic. Published in a leading medical journal, the study concluded that 95 percent of the estimated 32 million people believed to be allergic to penicillin can take this medicine without experiencing reactions. Penicillin is an antibacterial drug with a long history of being used to help patients with bacterial infections.

While the study doesn't give reasons for the tendency to classify individuals as being allergic to penicillin, one possibility is that some children may be mistakenly given this antibiotic for what's really a viral infection. If they have a negative reaction, a doctor may err on the side of caution and consider a patient allergic to this particular medicine. Other times, there may be a desire to reduce the risk of related medical malpractice issues by being overly cautious. Viral infections are also commonly accompanied by rashes, which could be misinterpreted as an allergic reaction to an antibiotic. Additional research suggests that a third of all prescriptions for antibiotics are likely not needed.

Road rage is all too common in Montana, just like anywhere else, but there are ways that drivers can avoid incurring it. Staying calm is the most important tip. When drivers are cut off, they should avoid honking the horn, flashing the high beams or making inflammatory hand gestures. These actions are better reserved for alerting other drivers to dangers.

Many drivers have their own methods for defusing anger. Music, for example, is proven to relieve stress. On the other hand, drivers will want to avoid tightly gripping their steering wheel for health reasons alone as it constricts blood flow and causes headaches. Drivers should be reasonable and remind themselves that they won't get home much sooner when they are angry.

A new study shows that drivers in Montana and across the nation benefit more than initially suspected from automatic emergency braking systems. Researchers from the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety conducted the study, and they looked at 10 different models of General Motors vehicles from 2013 to 2015 that were equipped with an automatic braking system. The study included both small and large cars, mid-sized vehicles and full-sized SUVs.

Automatic braking systems typically prevent motor vehicle accidents in two ways. A braking alert system warns a driver about a possible crash. The emergency brake system alerts the driver about a possible crash and applies the brakes to their fullest capacity. The study indicates that vehicles equipped with both alert and automatic braking systems work best to prevent accidents. Vehicles with the systems were involved in 43 percent fewer rear-end accidents, 64 percent fewer crashes with injuries of all types and 68 percent fewer collisions that involved third-party injuries when compared to vehicles without the automatic emergency braking systems.